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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. content — the amount
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rule — government
  13. bass — low music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. rule — a law
  16. bass — the fish
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fall — the season
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. key — in music
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com